Health systems strengthening through surgical and perioperative care pathways: a changing paradigm.

Global health has traditionally focused on the primary health development with disease-specific focus such as HIV, malaria and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). As such, surgery has traditionally been neglected in global health as investment in them is often expensive, relative to these other priorities. Therefore, efforts to improve surgical care have remained on the periphery of initiatives in health system strengthening.

Infrastructural Barriers to Neurosurgical Care of Brain Tumors in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.

Background: Appropriate surgical infrastructure is important for improving patient outcomes. However, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often struggle to provide adequate brain tumor surgery due to fractured infrastructure. This study aims to identify and evaluate barriers to surgical care infrastructure for brain tumors in LMICs.

The Boston Declaration 2025: Plan and Pledges for Progress in Global Neurosurgery.

Global Neurosurgery has been described as the clinical and public health practice of neurosurgery with the primary purpose of ensuring timely, safe, and affordable neurosurgical care to all who need it. Global Neurosurgery activities in the form of mission trips, educational partnerships, and research collaborations have been in place for decades. Still, there have been no central organizing efforts to improve the harmonization of these endeavors until recently.

Global neuro-oncology: what lies ahead for low- and middle-income countries?

Over the past few decades, the global healthcare community has achieved remarkable success in controlling many communicable diseases across various regions. However, non-communicable diseases now constitute a significant portion of disease morbidity and mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Among these, cancer, in particular, is witnessing a notable increase in incidence in many LMICs.

Partnering with Foundations, Philanthropy, and Universities with Programs Supported by Local Physicians and Eventually Local Physicians Taking Ownership.

This article provides a thorough analysis of the evolution and current state of global neurosurgery, emphasizing the transformative power of partnerships between various stakeholders to address the stark inequities in neurosurgical care, especially in LMICs. It discusses the transition from reliance on short-term medical missions to the development of sustainable, locally led neurosurgical programs through education, training, and infrastructure development. The article highlights the importance of long-term educational exchanges, innovative digital learning platforms, and strategic collaborations with foundations, philanthropic organizations, and academic institutions to build local capacities, enhance global neurosurgical competency, and promote self-sufficiency in neurosurgical care across different regions.

The Role of Policy in Global Neurosurgery.

There have been tremendous strides over the past decade to institute strong policy as means to facilitate alignment on goals and strategies for global neurosurgical systems strengthening. In this chapter, we highlight key historic policy milestones in the global neurosurgery movement. We discuss the role of international organizations in neurosurgery, and the incorporation of neurosurgery into global health agendas.

An Overview of Global Neurosurgery.

Until recently, surgery had been passed over in the domain of global health, historically being described as "the neglected stepchild of global health." Knowledge of the existing global disparities in neurosurgical care has led to neurosurgery capacity-building efforts especially in low-income and middle-income countries. While many global collaborative projects are currently undertaken with philanthropic support, sustainability and scalability are not likely without governmental adoption of neurosurgery-inclusive national surgical plans.

Adjuvant therapy for brain tumors in LMICs: A systematic review of barriers and possible solutions.

Background: Adjuvant therapy is an important tool in the arsenal of brain tumor management and can improve patients' outcomes significantly but low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often face challenges in provision. Therefore, our study aims to highlight barriers and strategies to adjuvant therapy of brain tumors in low-resource settings.

Method: A comprehensive search of literature was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and Scopus, from inception to October 20, 2022.

Challenges to Early Detection of Brain Tumors in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.

Objective: While early diagnosis of brain tumors is essential for improving prognoses, several challenges prevent early diagnosis of these illnesses in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The objective of this systematic review is to identify and evaluate the barriers and challenges to early detection of brain tumors in LMICs, as well as to propose potential solutions.

Methods: A thorough search of the literature was carried out with the aid of multiple databases, including Google Scholar, CINAHL, PubMed, and Scopus.

Governance Challenges to the Neurosurgical Care of Brain Tumors in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.

Background: Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often struggle to provide adequate neurosurgical care due to poor governance and institutional efforts, making access to care difficult. Therefore, our review of literature aims to identify gaps in government, national, and institutional efforts to combat barriers to neurosurgical care of brain tumors in LMICs, to inform future policy and action planning.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and CINAHL without language restrictions from inception to October 20, 2022.

Follow-Up Care for Brain Tumors in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of Existing Challenges and Strategies for the Future.

Background And Objectives: Brain tumors have a poor prognosis and a high death rate. Sufficient aftercare is necessary to enhance patient results. But follow-up care provision is fraught with difficulties in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where a variety of variables can impede access to care.

Workforce Challenges for the Neurosurgical Care of Brain Tumors in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.

Limited neurosurgical workforces remain one of the critical problems experienced in low resource settings. Therefore, our study aims to explore and summarize the key challenges to neurosurgical care of brain tumors in terms of workforce in LMICs. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar from inception to October 20, 2022.

Financing of Neurosurgical Care for Brain Tumors in Low- and Middle-Income Countries : A Scoping Review of Barriers and Strategies.

Background: Making neurosurgical care accessible to a larger portion of the population in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is integral due to the high mortality and morbidity associated with brain tumors. However, the high cost of care often makes it financially out of reach for many individuals. Therefore, this review aims to identify barriers to neurosurgical care of brain tumors in terms of financing in LMICs.

A guide to interpreting systematic reviews and meta-analyses in neurosurgery and surgery.

Introduction: Systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) are methods of data analysis used to synthesize information presented in multiple publications on the same topic. A thorough understanding of the steps involved in conducting this type of research and approaches to data analysis is critical for appropriate understanding, interpretation, and application of the findings of these reviews.

Methods: We reviewed reference texts in clinical neuroepidemiology, neurostatistics and research methods and other previously related articles on meta-analyses (MAs) in surgery.

Temporal Delays in the Management of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Comparative Meta-Analysis of Global Literature.

Objective: A meta-analysis was conducted to compare: 1) time from traumatic brain injury (TBI) to the hospital, and 2) time within the hospital to intervention or surgery, by country-level income, World Health Organization region, and healthcare payment system.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted and followed by a meta-analysis comparing duration of delays (prehospital and intrahospital) in TBI management. Means and standard deviations were pooled using a random effects model and subgroup analysis was performed using R software.